Aoun: Israel's Spraying of Toxic Pesticides on Southern Lands is an Environmental and Health Crime

Sada News - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned today, Wednesday, "in the strongest terms the Israeli planes' spraying of toxic pesticides on the lands and orchards in a number of the southern border villages."

He added that "this aggressive act constitutes a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, an environmental and health crime against the Lebanese citizens and their land, and represents a continuation of repeated Israeli assaults on Lebanon and its people."

Aoun stressed that "these dangerous practices targeting agricultural lands and the livelihoods of citizens and threatening their health and environment compel the international community and relevant UN organizations to take responsibility to stop these assaults and protect Lebanese sovereignty."

He requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare a documented file in cooperation with the ministries of Agriculture, Environment, and Public Health, in preparation for taking all necessary legal and diplomatic actions to confront this aggression and submit complaints to the relevant international forums."

In this context, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) warned on Monday of the repercussions of air activity carried out by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, which included the dropping of a chemical substance over areas near the "Blue Line". It stated that it was asked to stay away and remain indoors, which hindered its missions and raised health and environmental concerns.

It noted that it assisted the Lebanese Armed Forces in collecting samples for testing to determine their toxicity levels. It stated that this activity is "unacceptable" and constitutes a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

For her part, Lebanese Minister of Environment Tamara Al-Zein announced that she had contacted Army Chief Rudolph Haikal after receiving information from the town of Aita Al-Shaab and its surroundings about sightings of Israeli planes carrying out spraying operations of materials suspected to be "pesticides."

Al-Zein said in a statement that she requested samples from the affected sites for analysis to determine the nature of these materials and to follow up on the matter, stressing that this behavior, if the toxicity of the materials used is confirmed, is "not surprising" from the Israeli side.

The minister noted that during the recent aggression, Israel burned approximately nine thousand hectares (one hectare equals 10,000 square meters) in Lebanon using white phosphorus and incendiary bombs.

She considered this as "deliberate environmental extermination" aimed at undermining the ability of the southerners to remain steadfast in their land and secure the necessities of their lives.